Young Leadership

Young Leadership

FES Kenya actively empowers youth through various programs aimed at fostering more socially just value-driven political engagements. These initiatives include the Political Leadership and Governance Programme (PLGP), the Global Outlook Trade Union School (GOTUS) and the PLGP Alumni Network.

The Political Leadership and Governance Programme (PLGP)

The Political Leadership and Governance Programme emanates from FES Kenya’s renowned Political Leadership Development Programme (PLDP). Like its predecessor, the PLGP seeks to nurture and promote value-driven leadership for democratic governance in a democratic society.

The programme targets young future leaders between 18-35 of age drawn from civil society organizations, trade unions and political parties. The training provides young leaders with skills, networks and expertise relevant for political leadership at different levels. The PLGP encourages young Kenyans to take on the shared democratic responsibility that will be needed to build the socially just and democratic Kenya that they and those they will represent in future want.

Each year, our two-week-long training program equips young leaders with a comprehensive set of soft and hard leadership skills. These skills serve as invaluable tools for them to contribute towards fostering a more inclusive and dignified Kenya. Moreover, the training program specifically targets the empowerment of young leaders, including those from marginalized communities and vulnerable groups in Kenya. By doing so, we aim to empower and uplift those who have historically side-lined, enabling them to actively participate in shaping a more socially just, equitable and prosperous society.

Global Outlook Trade Union School (GOTUS)

In 2007, FES Kenya and the Central Organisation of Trade Unions -Kenya (COTU -K) launched the "Global Outlook Trade Union School" an annual training programme targeting young trade unionists. The annual program provides training to young trade unionists affiliated to COTU (K) and TUC -Ke on Thematic topics like Trade Unionism, Trade Unions, the Environment and Risks, Leadership and Management of Change, Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, Policy Dialogue and Platforms. Over 400 participants have completed the intensive one and a half -week course after passing a screening process. Many alumni have advanced to leadership positions within trade unions, including General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary, Branch Secretary and negotiators of collective bargaining agreements

Alumni

Many graduates of both the Political Leadership and Governance Programme (PLGP) and Global Outlook Trade Union School (GOTUS) have taken on positions within various organizations in Kenya after completion of the respective programme. Upon graduation, both PLGP and GOTUS graduates have formed voluntary alumni networks to share knowledge and resources for furthering their own chosen causes towards achieving a socially just Kenya. Both alumni networks conceptualize, implement, and communicate about these activities independently of FES and therefore the views and actions of PLGP and GOTUS alumni networks do not necessarily reflect the stance of FES Kenya.